Dragon and Tiger
Sesson Shūkei · c. 1546–56 · Cleveland Museum of Art
Guide
Adjust the guideNew to it · Medium
Looking for this guide.
From the museum
A tiger sits in a bamboo grove whipped with fierce wind, while a dragon claws through clouds above rough waves. Tiger and dragon are Chinese cosmological symbols of the balancing forces in the world, yin (the feminine aspect) and yang (the masculine aspect). The tiger's roar is also said to generate wind, and the dragon clouds. The screens may have originally been meant to express the fluctuating nature of the world as envisioned in the practice of military divination, or forecasting, based on the Yijing (Book of Changes). This pair of screens is considered the masterpiece of Sesson's body of work, and may have been created for the lord of Odawara in eastern Japan.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
What did you think?
Save this work’s image and museum information on this device to read without a connection.
Ask about this work
Ask in your own words. The answer comes from what the museum has written about the work, and says so when that does not hold it.
Details
- Maker
- Sesson Shūkei (Japanese, c. 1492–c. 1577)
- Date
- c. 1546–56
- Medium
- Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Each: 157.3 x 339 cm (61 15/16 x 133 7/16 in.); Framed: 172.3 x 354 cm (67 13/16 x 139 3/8 in.)
- Place of origin
- Japan
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · Not on view
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0
More by Sesson Shūkei
Shown in
- Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of ArtJun 27, 2009 – Aug 23, 2009
- Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the CollectionSep 17, 1991 – Jan 5, 1992
- Byobu: The Art of the Japanese ScreenAug 1, 1984 – Oct 14, 1984
- Japanese Screens from the Museum and Cleveland CollectionsMar 23, 1977 – May 8, 1977
- JuxtapositionsSep 11, 1965 – Oct 10, 1965